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1920s Test

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

 1. 
The immediate outcome of the 1925 Scopes Trial was that
a)
the jury was deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict.
b)
biology teacher John Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution and fined.
c)
the public gained a favorable view of American fundamentalists.
d)
the state of Tennessee modified its anti-evolution law.
e)
attorney Clarence Darrow got the charges against John Scopes dropped.
 

 2. 
Immigration restrictions of the 1920s were introduced as a result of
a)
the desire to halt immigration from Latin America.
b)
growing concern about urban overcrowding and crime.
c)
the nativist belief that northern Europeans were superior to southern and eastern Europeans.
d)
increased migration of blacks to the North.
e)
a desire to rid the country of the quota system.
 

 3. 
One of the major problems facing farmers in the 1920s was
a)
passage of the McNary-Haugen Bill.
b)
the inability to purchase modern farm equipment.
c)
overproduction.
d)
the prosecution of cooperatives under antitrust laws.
e)
drought and insects like the boll weevil.
 

 4. 
The red scare of 1919-1920 was provoked by
a)
the public's fear that labor troubles were sparked by communist and anarchist revolutionaries.
b)
Russian Communism's threat to American security.
c)
public anger at evolutionary science's challenge to the biblical story of the Creation.
d)
urban immigrants' resistance to prohibition.
e)
the wartime migration of rural blacks to northern cities.
 

 5. 
In the mid-1920s, President Coolidge twice refused to sign legislation proposing to
a)
lower taxes.
b)
subsidize farm prices.
c)
make the United States a member of the World Court.
d)
exempt farmers' cooperatives from the antitrust laws.
e)
defend the family farm against corporate takeovers.
 

 6. 
The McNary-Haugen Bill passed by Congress and vetoed by President Coolidge was aimed to assist American farmers by
a)
restricting the amount of crops farmers could plant in order to drive up prices.
b)
blocking the import of certain cheaper agricultural commodities from Europe and Latin America.
c)
having the federal government buy farm surpluses and sell them abroad.
d)
providing federal support for farm co-operatives as a way of eliminating middle men.
e)
providing federal loans for agricultural equipment and seeds.
 

 7. 
The most influential classical film of the 1910s, D.W. Griffiths' Birth of a Nation, stirred extensive protest by African Americans because
a)
Griffiths refused to use black actors.
b)
the film was heavily financed by white racist Hollywood film business owners.
c)
African Americans were not allowed to see the film even in northern movie theaters.
d)
the film glorified the Ku Klux Klan and portrayed blacks as corrupt politicians or rapists.
e)
the film depicted the black leader Marcus Garvey in an unfavorable light.
 

 8. 
The most spectacular example of lawlessness and gangsterism in the 1920s was
a)
New Orleans.
b)
Las Vegas.
c)
Brooklyn.
d)
New York City.
e)
Chicago.
 

 9. 
The Immigration Act of 1924 discriminated directly against
a)
Jews and Muslims.
b)
southern and eastern Europeans and Japanese.
c)
northern and western Europeans.
d)
Canadians and West Indians.
e)
Latin Americans.
 

 10. 
The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti illustrated America’s fear of
a)
African-Americans’ migration to northern cities
d)
immigrants who possessed radical or leftist beliefs
b)
the growing support for women’s suffrage
e)
treaties that might bring the United States into more European conflicts
c)
the reemergence of hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan
 

 11. 
Which one of the following members of President Harding's cabinet proved to be incompetent and corrupt?
a)
Herbert Hoover
b)
Calvin Coolidge
c)
Albert Fall
d)
Charles Evans Hughes
e)
Andrew Mellon
 

 12. 
The Palmer Raids of the 1920s were a response to
a)
the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1920s
d)
government corruption as illustrated in the Teapot Dome Scandal
b)
organized crime developing after Prohibition
e)
the reemergence of trusts following the first World War
c)
fears of communism following the Russian Revolution
 

 13. 
The Fordney-McCumber and Hawley-Smoot Tariff laws had the long-term effect of
a)
pressuring the Europeans to lower their own tariff rates in order to retain American trade.
b)
bringing American farmers out of the agricultural depression of the early 1920s.
c)
lowering the prices Americans paid for domestic manufactured goods.
d)
encouraging the United States to turn more to Asia than to Europe for imports.
e)
shrinking international trade and making it impossible for Europe to repay American war loans.
 

 14. 
The impact of the Fordney-McCumber and Hawley-Smoot Tariffs could be best described as
a)
crippling Europe’s ability to pay off its war debts and damaging American industry
d)
greatly benefiting midwestern farmers during the 1920s
b)
upsetting the balance of trade among European nations
e)
illustrating America’s fear of leftist immigrants following the Red Scare
c)
illustrating America’s willingness to disarm following the first World War
 

 15. 
The prosperity that developed in the 1920s
a)
was concentrated primarily in heavy industry.
b)
closed the gap between rich and poor.
c)
enabled labor unions to gain strength.
d)
was accompanied by a cloud of consumer debt.
e)
led to a growing level of savings by the American public.
 

 16. 
Of the following, the one least related to the other four is
a)
Dayton, Tennessee.
b)
John T. Scopes.
c)
Frederick W. Taylor.
d)
Clarence Darrow.
e)
William Jennings Bryan.
 

 17. 
The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s was a reaction against
a)
new immigration laws passed in 1924.
b)
capitalism.
c)
race riots.
d)
the nativist movements that had their origins in the 1850s.
e)
the forces of diversity and modernity that were transforming American culture.
 

 18. 
The Ku Klux Klan virtually collapsed in the late 1920s when
a)
the Klan proved unable to implement its program.
b)
the organization was publicly exposed as a corrupt and cynical racket.
c)
the immigration restriction laws of the early 1920s were repealed.
d)
both political parties sharply criticized the Klan as un-American.
e)
the advent of radio led to a new level of public knowledge and tolerance.
 

 19. 
To justify their new sexual frankness, many Americans pointed to
a)
the theories of Sigmund Freud.
b)
increased consumption of alcohol.
c)
the influence of erotically explicit movies.
d)
the decline of fundamentalism.
e)
the rise of the women's movement.
 

 20. 
The Scopes Trial illustrated the nation’s debate over
a)
the rural verses urban split within the nation
d)
religious conservatism versus modern scientific theories
b)
women’s suffrage versus and the Cult of Domesticity
e)
immigration and fears of leftist radicals
c)
the proper role of government and the New Deal
 

 21. 
The use of installment plans during the 1920s was significcant to the economy because it
a)
caused the average wage of workers to decline
d)
served as a catalyst for a new consumer-based economy
b)
greatly limited the number of people who had access to credit
e)
illustrated the need for lower tariffs to promote trade
c)
illustrated a rejection of materialism and luxury for pragmatism
 

 22. 
Match each literary figure below with the correct work.

A.Ernest Hemingway1.A Farewell to Arms
B.F. Scott Fitzgerald2.Main Street
C.Sinclair Lewis3.The Sound and the Fury
D.William Faulkner4.The Great Gatsby
a)
A-1, B-4, C-2, D-3
b)
A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1
c)
A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4
d)
A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2
e)
A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
 

 23. 
The Teapot Dome scandal was centered around corrupt deals and bribes involving
a)
naval oil reserves.
b)
presidential pardons.
c)
European war debts.
d)
the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
e)
veterans' hospitals.
 

 24. 
During Coolidge's presidency, government policy was set largely by the interests and values of
a)
farmers and wage earners.
b)
conservative New Englanders.
c)
racial and ethnic minorities.
d)
progressive reformers.
e)
the business community.
 

 25. 
The Republican administration of the 1920s would best be described as
a)
open to increased immigration and less stringent quotas
d)
possessing a foreign policy based on expansion and heavy domestic business regulation.
b)
strongly focused on building up the armed forces
e)
strongly against high tariffs and pro labor
c)
supporting isolationism and laissez-faire business policies domestically
 

 26. 
Jazz music was developed by
a)
American blacks.
b)
American teenagers.
c)
Latinos.
d)
Caucasian impresarios.
e)
Caribbean immigrants.
 

 27. 
Buying stock on margin meant purchasing
a)
inexpensive stock.
b)
little-known stock.
c)
risky or marginal stock.
d)
it on credit with only a small down payment.
e)
only a few shares of stock.
 

 28. 
Margaret Sanger was most noted for her advocacy of
a)
abortion rights.
b)
free love.
c)
the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
d)
women's suffrage.
e)
birth control.
 

 29. 
Warren G. Harding’s administration is most associated with which scandal?
a)
Star Route Scandal
d)
Execution of Sacco and Vanzetti
b)
Teapot Dome Scandal
e)
Credit Mobilier Scandal
c)
Whiskey Ring Scandal
 

 30. 
The most tenacious pursuer of radical elements during the red scare of the early 1920s was
a)
A. Mitchell Palmer.
b)
F. Scott Fitzgerald.
c)
Frederick W. Taylor.
d)
J. Edgar Hoover.
e)
William Jennings Bryan.
 

 31. 
What was the Harlem Renaissance?
a)
A period of artistic achievement in multiple fields by African-Americans
d)
The emergence of civic-minded African-American business leaders
b)
A group of civil rights leaders determined to use the courts to end discrimination
e)
The refusal of African-Americans to submit quietly to the practices of Jim Crow laws
c)
The migration of African-Americans from the South to northern cities
 

 32. 
The first talkie motion picture was
a)
Gone With the Wind.
b)
The Jazz Singer.
c)
The Wizard of Oz.
d)
The Birth of a Nation.
e)
The Great Train Robbery.
 

 33. 
During the 1920s, large numbers of Americans were able to purchase relatively expensive automobiles, appliances, and radios through the relatively new innovation of
a)
consumer co-ops.
b)
catalog sales.
c)
big box discount stores.
d)
special sales and price reductions at certain times of year.
e)
consumer credit.
 

 34. 
Disillusioned by war and peace, Americans in the 1920s did all of the following except
a)
shun diplomatic commitments to foreign countries.
b)
restrict immigration.
c)
struggle to achieve economic prosperity.
d)
denounce radical foreign ideas.
e)
condemn un-American life-styles.
 

 35. 
In response to the need to develop greater and greater mass markets for their products, American business in the 1920s relied especially on the new techniques of
a)
consumer advertising.
b)
direct selling through catalogs and door-to-door solicitation.
c)
government-backed guarantees of product performance.
d)
price competition.
e)
developing a large range of product variation.
 

 36. 
Which of the following events illustrates the nativist sentiments of the 1920s?
a)
the feats of Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart
d)
The passage of the Volstead Act and the 18th Amendment
b)
The Washington Naval Conference and the Kellogg-Briand Pact
e)
The reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan and the passage of the National Origins Act
c)
The works produced by the Lost Generation and the Harlem Renaissance
 

 37. 
The post-World War I Ku Klux Klan advocated all of the following except
a)
repression of pacifists.
b)
opposition to birth control.
c)
fundamentalist religion.
d)
anti-Catholicism.
e)
opposition to prohibition.
 



 
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